Magnis receives strong interest from flake graphite buyers

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) –  Having evolved into a diversified project developer with graphite mine developer operations and ownership in the large-scale manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, ASX-listed graphite buyer and seller Magnis Resources has received strong interest from a number of parties looking to source high-purity ‘super jumbo’ and ‘jumbo’ flake graphite.

Company chairperson Frank Poullas said in a note on Tuesday that the company’s diversification strategy has significantly derisked Magnis, giving it greater optionality.

Owing to its role in the development of proposed lithium-ion battery gigafactories in the US, Germany and Australia, the company has evolved from solely being a graphite seller to becoming a graphite buyer and seller, as well as a significant and active participant in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.

In its role as a graphite buyer, Magnis has also been actively diversifying its sourcing of anode materials for the lithium-ion battery gigafactories to mitigate the risk posed by being over-reliant on one source. Magnis said it has identified multiple sources of graphite for the production of anode materials, along with other specialty markets.

Through this diversification, the company has and continues to assess multiple sources of natural and synthetic graphite, including product sourced from the company’s Nachu mine, in south-east Tanzania, and across multiple continents.

Meanwhile, Magnis is maintaining a constructive and cooperative dialogue with the Tanzania government, with newly appointed members from Tanzania’s Ministry of Minerals expressing their support for the integrated development of Nachu mine, which will be coupled with downstream operations within the Special Economic Zone. According to Magnis, this integrated development approach is in line with current government policy.

“We are absolutely committed to the development of Nachu and, together with the support of the Tanzania government, [we] are confident that it will be a world-class project,” concluded Poullas, adding that the company has prioritised diversifying into sourcing other graphite material and that it expects to report on some success in this regard shortly.

New mining regulation and amendments to the structure of Tanzania’s mining code are expected to be released by year end.